#7 1992 SAN FRANCISCO 49ers
I'll never forget that cold snowy night in the winter of Detroit, 1991. It was January and of course that meant playoff football season. I forget what movie it was, but I was offered to go see a movie with some neighborhood friends at either Fairlane Mall or the Americana. The catch was that the movie was on the weekend and it coincided with the game.
Of course when I say "game" we weren't talking about the Lions. Even though the home team suffered though another miserable season, the true sports fan in me wanted to stay home and watch a great game, even if Barry Sanders wasn't playing in it.
That "game" so happened to be the NFC Championship Game between the SF49ers and NY Giants. Throughout the season both teams appeared to be on a collision course after annihilating every opponent who stood way of a Super Bowl.
Deep down I knew no matter how good the game would be, the 9ers would figure out a way to pull a victory. They always did. They, the Lakers, the Celtics. It seemed like those teams always won Championships in that era. And besides, Joe Cool was in his prime, Jerry Rice was scratching the surface, Roger Craig was still high-stepping and Ronnie Lott was cracking heads as normal.
"But no so fast my friend!" as Lee Corso would say. Leonard Marshall knocked Joe Montana out the game; and in essence ending his era as a San Fran deity as well. San Fran lost 15-12, and the 9ers as we grew to know and love would never be again.
Fast Forward to the same Championship Game, this time two years later. The 9ers underwent massive change and transformation. The year before they struggled to identify themselves without Joe, and fell out the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.
But in the '92 season they found they're magic again…and also another Hall of Fame quarterback in Steve Young. Young led the league in passing, Ricky Watters emerged as more then a capable replacement for Roger Craig, and Jerry Rice was the same ole Jerry Rice. The 9ers led the league in victories and seemed as if the year before was only a hiccup. And like 1991, their opponent came from the NFC East.
Unlike '91, it wasn't an over the hill team they were playing. This time they were playing an up and coming "America's Team" in the Dallas Cowboys. Led by Ken Norton and the league's #1 defense, the Cowboys were the only team capable to hold the San Fran's explosive fire power. Oh, and they had a little fire power of their own with #1 pick Troy Aikman, league rushing champ Emmitt Smith, and the mercurial wide receiver Michael Irvin.
The game was close, but the Cowboys proved to be much in the end as Troy Aikman found Alvin Harper for a 70 yard post that led to the eventual back breaking touchdown. Dallas 30, Sf 20. In hindsight, it's hard to say that the 3 time Super Bowl winning Cowboys actually "upset" a team; but the 1992 49ers were primed and ready for another Bowl. Just didn't get 'er done. How bout them Cowboys?
HONORABLE MENTION: '94 COWBOYS
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